Al
Di Meola’s new CD is a bit of a puzzle. It
proclaims proudly in a sticker on the front
of the box that this is "a return to
his solid-body electric guitar" but he
also plays acoustic guitar and several other
instruments on the album. On four tracks he
even plays all the instruments himself, although
the longest of these lasts only just over
two minutes, making them insubstantial interludes
rather than complete tunes.

Many
of the tracks give the impression of soundtrack
music for a film (perhaps set in Latin America
or Mexico) rather than jazz outings. There’s
a Spanish tinge to several items, with strong
hints of flamenco, but it’s difficult to distinguish
melodies in the midst of what sounds like
a lot of doodling – technically brilliant
doodling, undoubtedly, but tending towards
self-indulgence. The presence of Chick Corea
on a couple of tracks brightens things up
considerably, with Red Moon coming
across as the sort of thing Corea might have
written when Al was his guitarist in Return
to Forever in the mid-seventies. Cry for
You is a delicate duet between Al’s acoustic
guitar and Chick’s piano.

Elsewhere,
Barry Miles (one of Al’s early employers)
almost overshadows the leader with some fascinating
work on the piano – for example, in Turqoise,
where the piano lines seem more substantial
than the guitar. Mario Parmsiano, a member
of Al’s regular band, is also no mean pianist,
coping effectively with demands for Corea-like
dexterity.

My
uncertainty about this disc is reflected in
the album title. Is the unfocused nature of
the album a consequence of chaos? Parts of
it certainly sound chaotic. Or is it just
a guitar hero doing whatever he wants? After
several hearings, I remain bewildered.